I'm planning to order an Albion Reeve and I was thinking of trying to order it with a finish like the first link and a grip like the second one. The idea is to make it look a bit batter and used but still during the functional lifetime of the sword. I know the blade would still be gleaming bright and all but in a slightly batter scabbard it would give the appearance of being well used.
How do you guys think that would turn out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/albioneurope/609...423113007/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/albioneurope/609...423113007/

Tomas B

I think it would look nice. While I don't have the antiqueing on my pommel/cross, I do have my Reeve in light brown. The light brown looks really good on the simpler swords like the Reeve.

However, it has been my personal experience that grips actually darken with age and use. Maybe you could get the light brown, and just let a natural patina form on the grip from the oils on your hand...

Personally I think that antiqued fittings look better with darker handles.
If those fitting started out new with a light brown grip the leather would have darkened along with the iron.

Here's my Kingmaker with antiqued fittings and a dark brown handle to give you an idea

I have an aged finish on my Albion Crecy and I must say I love the effect. It really gives it a lot of personality. However, I would definitely agree that it looks better when paired with a darker grip color. I got mine in oxblood and I think it pairs nicely. Having a grip that's lighter than the fittings would look a bit off in my opinion.
Here's a photo of my combo to give you an idea.

Albion Crecy, aged hilt components, oxblood grip. Fresh out of the box, so no scabbard yet.

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I don't know if Albion does that, but if I wanted a "well used" look I would request far lighter degree of aging than what I see on the pictures above. It looks like surface of swords found after spending a few hundred years on a river bottom. I would expect that well used but still functional and cared for sword, either fittings or blade, would look more like this pommel by Arms&Armor (you can see pits and darker areas where nicks and rust were heavier but owner polished it as well as he could with the whetstone he carries on a campaign):

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Another option would be to chemically darken the furniture with a cold blue. This type of treatment can be done in a matter of minutes and adds a very natural darkening to the steel. The best part is that it can be removed later with no damage to the sword. The cold blue wears off on the high spots of the hardware over time which gives a very nice aesthetic.

With this option, you can always change your mind - and if you wanted, you could go back and forth as you wanted with patina or no patina as you desired. With the antiquing option from the manufacturer, you can't go back. I have done this to quite a few of my blades and always love how they look. Here is my Mercenary: